Category Archives for Airlines.
You’re going to see a lot about a new CDC-released study that suggests blocking middle seats is important protection for air travel during the pandemic. However the coverage is going to be very misleading.
All that the new research tells us is that being a bit farther away from someone infected with the virus is probably better than being right next to them, which we already know.
Over the weekend, Vivo Y20 cell phones and accessories which were made in Guangdong, China and headed to Bangkok caught fire as they were about to be loaded onto an aircraft in Hong Kong.
Effective immediately and without notice, Southwest Airlines has started requiring 6.5% more points for flight redemptions. The change comes as Southwest celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. Award tickets used to cost 78 points per dollar of base fare and now cost 83 points per dollar.
I first wrote about Bask Bank and the Bask Savings Account at the beginning of 2020. I’ve been saving and earning with them for a year and the mileage-earning strategy has proven-out.
That’s not really a surprise. I’ve been a customer of Bask Bank’s parent, Texas Capital Bank, since July 2003. But it’s great to see that the value proposition has remained constant throughout the past year’s turmoil, and even looks more attractive compared to today’s alternatives.
On Friday American Airlines confirmed they were removing espresso machines from their Airbus A321T, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft. A spokesperson explained this was intended to “help conserve fuel and prevent confusion about what services are currently offered.”
This decision generated a surprising amount of comment and interest. However American now says that the machines will actually stay. They have removed supplies, but expect the espresso service to eventually return to premium cabins where the machines are offered
American Airlines has already retaliated against Burbank, California-based upstart airline Avelo founded by former Allegiant President and United CFO Andrew Levy which begins flying April 28.
Earlier I noted that ex-Royal Prince Harry flew to London for his grandfather’s funeral and made the trip without his wife Meghan Markle.
All of the royal drama aside – his walking away from his title, giving an interview to Oprah where he called his family racists – I thought there could be a bigger scandal in his first trip back to the U.K. in a year.
The U.K.’s Prince Philip, who passed away last week at age 99, thought travel in economy class was ‘ghastly’. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, though, have flown British Airways coach before, however.
Prince Harry, himself no longer a royal, flew Los Angeles – London Heathrow on Saturday. He reportedly arrived in London at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday. While it’s reported he flew British Airways, the 1:15 p.m. arriving from Los Angeles is actually an American Airlines flight (AA134).
Effective today, April 12, miles no longer expire due to lack of activity in an account. That matches JetBlue, Delta, Southwest, and United. Hawaiian has also cut its elite status earning requirements in half for this year:
Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’. These are revolutionary suites with doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Right now there’s fantastic award availability booking for the start of 2021 for Qatar’s QSuites product – out of several U.S. cities – with four business class seats available.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
